Fabrication of ceramic membrane support with gradient pore structures

Rheological properties of suspensions with various mass fraction of alumina (with average particle size of 0.56 μm) were investigated. The effect of mass fraction of Al₂O₃ suspension on the pore structures of support was also studied. The alumina disk supports with gradient pore structures were successfully fabricated by using 10% in mass Al₂O₃ suspensions through sedimentation and subsequent vacuum filtration. The porosity and permeability of the supports as a function of sintering temperature was studied and compared with the data cited from references. The pure water flux of the supports with gradient pore structures is about 75 L/(m² · h · MPa), which is higher than that of the supports with uniform pore structures.